27 August 2012

The first written words of the English language

I didn't know that the earliest known example of written words of the English language are preserved not in a book or manuscript, but in a medallion - the Undley Bracteate, which dates to the 5th century:

Believed to have been made in southern Denmark and brought to England by some of the earliest Germanic-speaking settlers, the Bracteate features a helmeted head, a she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus and a runic inscription…

5 comments:

Mystical, eh? But Ga-go-ga is quite clearly a reference to the meat-wearing wo-go-man, fairly petty in the overall scheme of things, who would become a famous pop icon in the first decade of the 2000's.

Made in Denmark for german-speaking settlers - the Saxons who bred with the Angles to produce the Anglo-Saxons? - and with runes as well as a reference to the founder of Rome? Sounds suspicious and "Old English" should not really be equated with "English", but I read on that wiki page that over 1000 of these artifacts have been found, with a large variety of designs, so it could be possible. On tv last night we saw a documentary about the Vikings (with a Neil Oliver doing the talking) and he explained that in a small island off the coast of Sweden, a small statuette of Buddha had been found, from the Viking era, indicating the breadth of trade routes. This might explain the reference to Romulus and Remus.

"Tai-wiki-widbee" is an eclectic mix of trivialities, ephemera, curiosities, and exotica with a smattering of current events, social commentary, science, history, English language and literature, videos, and humor. We try to be the cyberequivalent of a Victorian cabinet of curiosities.

The 2008 Weblog Awards

Category: Best New Blog

Translate

Search TYWKIWDBI

About Me

I'm using an old photo of my grandfather as an avatar; he would have been amused.
Readers - especially old friends, classmates, students, former colleagues, and long-lost relatives - are welcome to email me via retag4726 (at) mypacks.net